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The state of Michigan joined Detroit in urging the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit not to let municipal pension systems appeal a bankruptcy judge's ruling that the city is eligible for Chapter 9 creditor protection.

In a two-page filing Thursday with the Cincinnati-based court, Michigan's solicitor general advanced the same arguments made by U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Steven Rhodes, who also recommended against an appeal of his December ruling. The eligibility ruling isn't a final decision and there's not "good cause" to allow an appeal, the state said.

Like Detroit, the state recommended against accelerating the appeal as the pension systems asked, if the appeals court is inclined to hear the case now. The state said an appeal could interfere with mediation and the city's efforts to negotiate a consensual debt-adjustment plan.

The two pension systems said in a Jan. 8 filing that it would be "breathtakingly unfair" not to permit the appeal of a decision that affects the lives of thousands.

"Congress could not have contemplated" that a bankruptcy judge, who doesn't have life tenure, "would advise the courts of appeal on how to exercise their appellate jurisdiction," they said. The city never explained "why or how" an appeal might interfere with mediation, they said.

Although Rhodes concluded that Detroit is eligible for Chapter 9 municipal bankruptcy, there is debate over whether such a ruling is automatically appealable or is an "interlocutory" order that can't be challenged without permission.

If the pension funds get their appeal, it's up to the circuit court to decide whether to bypass the district court and hear the case itself. Appellate courts normally decide such issues quickly, without a hearing. A decision on allowing an appeal could come any day.

Detroit began the largest-ever Chapter 9 municipal bankruptcy in July with $18 billion in debt, including $5.85 billion in special revenue obligations, $6.4 billion in post- employment benefits, $3.5 billion for underfunded pensions, $1.13 billion on secured and unsecured general obligations, and $1.43 billion on pension-related debt, according to a court filing. Debt service consumes 42.5 percent of revenue.